Then this song comes up…
And I get teary eyed and I stop,
Makes me feel kind of glad to work from home, and nobody has to see me stop what I am doing and singing out loud, but on the other hand I write this post for everyone to know the secret Regina Spektor effect 
That’s it!
Whole bunch of unfinished work! WOW!
So much filing, cleaning , stone & pearl settings to do ..
June was all about custom orders in one week I started getting some wholesale messages about 17 rings, then 4 of those, 2 of these….
then the next thing I see is a 3 page to do list, which is always a blessing if you ask me.
I’m slowly getting in the talks with some stores that liked my work, there is this one in particular which asked me to leave a folder with some photos of work that I offered wholesale.
How can one deal with such an amount of work coming your way?
What if someone asks for a lot of jewelry?
I remember the first wholesale order I had was for like 42 pieces all different and it felt like it took forever to make, little by little then I started noticing the importance of having some kind of order when working and finding a way not to get bored by making the same item several times..
Let me tell you how I do it.. ((((sounds so silly but it works for me)))
First I make all the parts.. literally like shown in the photos..It might take a work day but I just go and make EVERYTHING
Then after I do what I usually do around the house and kill every possible distraction that will keep me from sitting in my work chair, I say to myself “Ok 6 rings today for the wholesale order”
Sit down, look at the list and then instead of making them all in a row I make one of each design and in a different size, usually people ask for different sizes in one design, so I make all size 6 in each of the designs ordered then afterwards I go cross that from my list, make some tea, go online, pack,ship,post office whatever I need to do..
Music is very important for me…I have my special playlists that really can make me go on for hours and hours.. I work and sing hammers make the best microphones I tell you ..
Most the time I divide my work in 2 shifts I like working in the morning from like 9 to 12 then go back to work around 4pm.. at this point then I work on any Etsy orders I might have.
When I’m done , and I will tell you this even if it might make me sound like a mad jewelryaholic.. I reward myself making something fun.
Something for me, what does it mean for me? some project I’m dying to make, a stone I need to set.. a setting I need to practice because once again I love doing this so it’s my work and somehow my reward for the work done.
Even if it’s something little like today.. I made this after I was done with all the work:
So time flies by, orders get filled, I feel like all areas are covered, orders inside and outside of Etsy and something that just was meant to be made that day.
Another thing I think is important is to be reasonable and don’t accept more than you can take, at no point one should be stressed, when stressed nothing comes out right and what takes an hour ends up being 3 ..also time people who order your product most likely know is handmade and it takes time to make so really think about how much it takes you to make a particular piece, multiply it by the amount you have to make and see how you can fit them to the day..
I have asked for as much as a month and a half for a big order and people understand, at the beginning I used to want to ship everything in 3 business days! and killed myself, I remember times where I pulled whole nights of work to be done with a deadline but really have learned over time that is just not good to push that hard…
Sooo this is what I do when I have tons and tons of work before I end up plucking my hair out!
Hope I made some sense! 
Today I want to show you the things I’ve been working on.. flowers and flowers I wanted a delicate feminine line of things
First the Rosette:
Made a ring following the rosette idea
Then I made this other one that looks more like a lotus.
Bit of a long post hope you are not bored!
This one is one of my favorites
This is how it looks on
and last but not least the itsy bitsy flower..this one was made specially for etsy so i could sell it at an affordable price
and how it looks on!
.. These days have been crazy.
I quit my office job (no more forced heels) or waking at 4am, I didn’t do it because I can live out of the jewelry still wish I could..I need more time, It’s terribly scary but at the same time I feel so light , so good.
So I pretty much have no job, just the http://www.spanishpod101.com which I’m going to try to get even more involved with as a host.
Right this moment I’ve been going to the beach back and forth, doing a lot of thinking. Who knows what’s so good about being unstable? ..guess this happens when you have nothing to lose..
I’m giving me some time to figure out what happens, al I know is I want to be a jeweler and I want to live off it.. and I will take whatever road to get there..even if it means to hussle for a while..
I might get a part time in a couple of weeks, the thing is I don’t want to stress I want to sleep more than 4/5 hours a night, and I want to have more time to sit and make some stuff..
At the end all this will either go great or end up as a terrible mess and me working a job I can’t stand again..
Right now I’m pretty much back to the beach bum life style..only for a little bit..
Hands always willing to help, to serve , hands that are never closed or hurt ,working hands that assume work as way to get to their dreams.
Tender hands, that say hello, that clap with joy , that are thankful . Hands that give and receive.
Hands that heal, that are warm, that make distances shorter.. Hands that are dark from working, that smell like mud , hands that do good deeds and don’t mind getting dirty or stand pain to make a change. These are the most beautiful hands…
(Oxidized silver and leather cord, this piece is unisex.. )
Soon for sale at http://www.nataliaraya.etsy.com
